Medicare Officials Back Away From Changes To Prescription Drug Plan

Facing heavy bipartisan opposition on Capitol Hill as well as from patient groups, businesses, insurers and others, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Monday it did not plan to move ahead at this time with several proposed changes to the Medicare prescription drug program.

Published Online: March 27, 2014

Facing heavy bipartisan opposition on Capitol Hill as well as from patient groups, businesses, insurers and others, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Monday it did not plan to move ahead “at this time” with several proposed changes to the Medicare prescription drug program.

The draft regulation, which had been released in January, would have wide-ranging impact on the drug program, also known as Part D, including new limits on the number of plans insurers could offer consumers and new rules about what drugs those plans must cover. It also would prohibit exclusion of pharmacies from a plan’s “preferred pharmacy network” as long as the pharmacies agreed to the plan’s terms and conditions.

During the rule’s comment period, which closed March 7, CMS received “numerous concerns about some elements of the proposal” from lawmakers and stakeholders, CMS administrator Marilyn Tavenner said in a letter to Congress.